Marriage is the holy estate that God instituted though Adam by taking from his rib bone and forming Eve and then bringing Eve to Adam Genesis 2:23. The Holy Bible teaches in Gen. 2:24 that marriage is only when one man and one woman leave their father and their mother and “cleave” to each other and that “they will become one flesh”. God designed marriage to be life-long union that “man should not separate”. The man and woman should not separate or divorce. “But if indeed she is separated, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to the husband; and a husband is not to send away a wife.” (1 Cor 7:11) In Romans 7:2, a woman is “bound” to her husband as long as he is alive. Marriage is this promise and life-long faithfulness to each other as husband and wife.

The biblical teaching on marriage emphasizes these blessings God intends to convey to these joined together in marriage. God promises blessings upon husbands and wives who are well suited and complementary to one another. God gives husbands to be the head of their wives as Christ is head of the church, to lead their families in God’s word, to love their wives as Christ loved the church and to treat their wives with respect as co-heirs in Christ. Fathers are to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, and they are not to embitter or discourage their children. Wives are to submit to their husbands as to the Lord and teach their daughters to love their husbands, children, and be a good example to other young women. Children are to obey their parents in the Lord, honoring their mother and fathers. God ordained fathers and mothers to provide a stable environment in which children can be nurtured both physically and spiritually. Marriage is the one context God intended for the use of the gift of sexual intimacy, where the sexual union is an expression of love and satisfaction to each other. Finally, since we live in a fallen world, in marriage, God provides a restraint for selfishness and sin as each of them strive to live the pure life that God intends for his people (1 Thess. 4:3-8).

Legal marriage is not just a legal contract from our political system or culture that conveys rights to property or children in case of divorce. Holy marriage is fulfilling God’s purpose for His creation of man and woman and conveys God’s blessing upon their marriage bearing children related by blood and are of one flesh. Such estate and institution is to be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Heb. 13:4.

We believe that marriage is the sacred, life-long union between one man and one woman. We believe the Bible when we fail to do what pleases our Lord and are not faithful in our commitments or when marriages fail. This is exactly why Christ Jesus came into our world to give complete forgiveness and salvation to all who confess their sins and trust in Jesus Christ. For many of us this means, we have a new start, a new beginning, to trust and to follow our Savior.